“What I Say Is Not Necessarily What I Do”: A Critical Conceptual Analysis of the (Missing) Link between Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Social Impact

When terms such as sustainability, sustainable development, UN Agenda 2030 are mentioned, they refer to certain commitments by different categories of social actors (including companies), which should limit the negative impacts on the economy, people and the environment and create a certain social impact. In this regard, it is pointed out that the very concept of social impact often remains very distant from the commitments made and communicated by companies in their reports and even more so from what companies actually do. This critical conceptual analysis aims to discuss and overcome the thesis that the more one talks about a topic, the more others will know about it and deal with it. Today’s social and environmental reporting practices are often very distant from the real ability to capture the true and concrete potential to create social impact and to create opportunities for improvement towards a more sustainable context.